Haygood, Ifill talk voting, economic justice, MLK on MSNBC shows

1/21/14

On Friday, Ryan Haygood[1], Director of the Political Participation Group, talked with Chris Matthews on Hardball about Voter ID laws. "Voter ID laws are really a modern iteration of the bygone era of poll taxes and other impediments to the ballot box," Haygood said. He explained that Pennsylvania's photo ID expansion doesn't remedy voter fraud. "The only example of fraud is the photo ID measure itself," Haygood said.

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On Saturday, Sherrilyn Ifill[2] appeared on Craig Melvin's show with host Milissa Rehberger during which they discussed Congress' swift, bipartisan effort [3]to respond to the Supreme Court's devastating decision in Shelby County, Alabama vs. Holder[4]. "There's a whole menu of provisions that are designed to provide a safety net of protection to replace the safety net that was wrested away after the Supreme Court decided the Shelby case....I've said for a while that this is a first step," Ifill said.

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On Monday, the day we commemorate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, Sherrilyn Ifill and Rep. John Lewis appeared on Andrea Mitchell's show and discussed the bipartisan introduction of the Voting Rights Amendment Act. "It's hard to imagine a bill that doesn't cover places like Alabama...but this is the beginning, this is how it begins," Ifill said. "We're incredibly encouraged because what we see is the will of Republicans and Democrats in Congress to ensure that all voters have the right to participate equally in the political process," Ifill added.